In the first of a new monthly series of presentations from different departments within the Westbury school district, director of special education Michael Mack highlighted his department’s accomplishments in student service at the Westbury Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

“Everything I talk about tonight and everything my team and I work on is to make sure we can help kids, families, and teachers in this community,” Mack said before highlighting five areas that he and his team have updated and improved, including the RISE program, night school, in-district staffing, scholar re-entry, and instructional sports.

The RISE program — which stands for Reaching Independence through Support and Empowerment — has grown from two sections in the 2024-2025 academic year across the elementary, middle, and high schools to nine sections in the 2026-2027 school year.

The night school program has also expanded over the past two years to now include special education, counseling, and resource room services. Regarding staffing, Mack said the district now has in-house occupational therapy staff, who bring greater community engagement and awareness of student needs than staffing from outside agencies. The new staffing also includes behavioral analysts, he said.

Mack showed how updates to special education programming and staffing have helped keep students in the district, with 30 students returning to the district and 25 additional students retained through the new programs. Special education services for bilingual students have also expanded to serve students in grades K-3.

For instructional sports, Mack said the Challenger soccer program team recently finished the season with a 6-1 record.